Warwickshire awards LEVI contracts to Connected Kerb and EZO

Car connected to a public on-street charger

Warwickshire says the programme combines £3.295 million of Department for Transport funding with around £15 million of private investment. Connected Kerb will provide 2,100 additional lower-powered charging sockets in Warwickshire, while EZO will deliver at least 73 rapid-charging sockets.

Two operators will serve different charging needs

The structure is more interesting than a single headline socket count. Rather than procuring one uniform network, Warwickshire has separated the rollout between lower-powered local charging and rapid charging.

Connected Kerb’s part of the programme is focused on lower-powered sockets, aligning with the LEVI objective of expanding local and on-street charging. EZO’s award covers at least 73 rapid sockets, giving the county a separate higher-power element for drivers who need shorter charging stops.

Public funding is being used to unlock larger private investment

The £3.295 million DfT allocation is being combined with approximately £15 million of private investment. That is a useful example of the concession-style approach now common in LEVI delivery, where public funding helps make locations commercially viable while the operator provides a larger share of the capital and takes responsibility for long-term operation.

Across the wider Midlands Connect-supported procurement, more than 6,600 charging sockets are expected to be delivered across the participating council areas.

Socket numbers should not be confused with locations

Warwickshire’s announcement is careful to refer to charging sockets. The 2,100 lower-powered sockets and at least 73 rapid sockets do not mean the same number of physical sites or standalone charger cabinets. Multi-socket installations can serve more than one vehicle from a single unit or location.

That distinction will become important as detailed site information is published, particularly when comparing the programme with other LEVI awards that use terms such as chargepoints, devices, bays or locations differently.

Several practical details are still to come

The council announcement does not set out exact power ratings, charger manufacturers, tariffs, concession duration, asset ownership or detailed maintenance and uptime obligations. It also does not explain how the customer experience will be coordinated between the two operators, including roaming and payment arrangements.

Those details will determine how consistent the network feels to drivers and how the infrastructure performs over the life of the contracts. For now, the award is notable for combining two clearly different charging tiers within one regional procurement rather than treating every site as the same use case.